You’re right to wonder how the State can punish you for refusing to help the police in a DUI case when the Miranda rights basically tell you the refusal to help the police by making a statement won’t be held against you. It’s just another example of how strange and unique DUI cases are.
The reason officers can ask you for a breath test in a DUI case is a little bit of legal trickeration called the “implied consent” law. Here’s what it says:
S.C. Code § 56-5-2950(A):
A person who drives a motor vehicle in this State is considered to have given consent to chemical tests of the person’s breath, blood, or urine for the purpose of determining the presence of alcohol, drugs, or the combination of alcohol and drugs, if arrested for an offense arising out of acts alleged to have been committed while the person was driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs.
So by driving in South Carolina, you’ve given the State permission— without even knowing it—to test your breath, blood, or urine for alcohol or drugs in a DUI case.
But there are a few things you should know:
- You do have the right to refuse. If you do, while you face an arrest and license suspension, you can still contest it. If you do, you may qualify for a license to drive anywhere in South Carolina until that part of your case is decided. At trial for the criminal charge, you cannot be automatically convicted because you refused.
- Officers can only request blood or urine in limited cases. And even if they do justifiably get those samples, the results may never see the light of day. Just because the officer got your blood test from the hospital doesn’t necessarily make his case any easier.
There’s No Time to Waste and You’ve Got Hope
Whether you exercised your right to refuse the test or not, DUI is a very complex and challenging charge to defend on your own—you may have defenses you don’t even know about. And these cases are very rarely open and shut, no matter how confident the officer seems of your guilt. Learn more by downloading my FREE book.
If you’ve been charged, you owe it to yourself to get your questions answered by an experienced DUI attorney. Fill out our Get Help Now form to start building your defense with our DUI lawyer.
